


Love Is Not For Show

by Nxxilah



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: AU, Auguste (Captive Prince) Lives, Auguste and Damen friendship, Falling In Love, Light Angst, Love Letters, M/M, Picnics, Secret Relationship, Song Inspired, The line is sort of thin, just another verse in which these two idiots fall in love, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26129950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nxxilah/pseuds/Nxxilah
Summary: Newly coronated King Auguste of Vere is hosting the annual Leaders of the Kingdoms Meet for royalty and nobles. Laurent’s love for his brother is the only reason he deigns to attend this Meet, which he has been successfully deflecting for years.He does not expect to feel a connection to King Damianos of Akielos. The nations of Akielos and Vere have never truly seen eye to eye, but when these royals’ initial attraction leads to the development of feelings, Laurent’s reluctance to cause further strife in a still politically unstable Vere, may cause heartbreak for everyone involved.Or an Auguste lives AU inspired somewhat by Taylor Swift’s ‘Peace’ off of the wonderful Folklore album I’ve had on repeat.
Relationships: Damen/Laurent (Captive Prince)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 133





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone who may or may not be reading!
> 
> This is my first attempt at fanfic even though I've been reading fanfic for about 3 years + 
> 
> I read the Captive Prince trilogy in about 2 and a half days, not sleeping or really doing anything other than desperately consuming the words. I then fell into the fanfic side and though there have been some super amazing ones I've read, there's still a lot of scope to play around with so I thought I'd start with this universe rather than the Drarry hole I've been in for years. I'll still likely write for that too at some point.
> 
> Anywhoooo, enjoy my first venture into writing, I would appreciate any comments and kudos. Also come talk to me on Tumblr- Nxxilah there too. I know it'll seem like a ghost town account but I promise I am active I just never post and I'm more prone to clicking like instead of reblog. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy, again, and I'd love to hear any and all your thoughts, don't be shy!!!
> 
> Nxxilah

“You know I’m grateful for your presence tonight,” Auguste said, moving over to where Laurent was doing up the fastenings on his traditional Veretian clothing.

Laurent said nothing, fully aware of how grateful Auguste was. He also knew that Auguste was aware Laurent’s attendance at the Leaders of the Kingdoms Meet was purely for his sake. He had successfully avoided attending for many years, and last year the politics between Vere and Akielos had been far too tumultuous for either nation to have an invitation at all.

Laurent looked over at Auguste, who was clearly nervous about attending this Meet for the first time as King. Laurent could also read in his face how badly he wanted this to go well. He clasped his brothers’ shoulder to silently show he understood and was here for him, but as they made their way out of the room into the corridors where guards were stationed, he couldn’t help but internally sigh. He hated events like these and was already planning the favours he’d be asking from Auguste for his complicity in attending. Perhaps he could finally be able to leave the walls of Arles’ palace and go riding into the nearing towns. He missed that small respite he’d have from the inner workings of Arles’ politics, but Auguste’s protectiveness after their uncle’s execution did not seem to be lessening any time soon.

“I will not be socialising, I hope you know,” Laurent said.

“I know,” Auguste smiled, “As long as you don’t offend anyone and cause an international incident, it’ll be fine.”

Laurent glanced at Auguste from the corner of his eye to make clear how much effort that truly would be for him.

Walking into the main hall in which the event was being held, Laurent couldn’t help but be slightly impressed by the décor. In typical Veretian style there was gold everywhere, but it was clear it had been toned down in order to be respectful of the other nations. Vere had volunteered to host as a show of their willingness to turn over a new leaf with all the other nations, including Akielos.

Auguste’s entrance garnered the attention of everyone there and Laurent could see some surprised faces at Laurent’s own presence. He kept his face as stoic and blank as usual, but it took more effort with all the eyes on him.

“I’ll see you soon,” Auguste said, walking towards a group of what looked to be noblewomen from the neighbouring nation of Vask.

Laurent, now free to do as he wished, made his way to the edges of the room, away from the prying eyes of the upper echelons of the four nations gathered, to avoid people who may want to converse with him. He also knew it’d give him a good vantage point from which he could analyse the behaviour of these leaders and gather information that may be useful for Vere. It was surprising how much one could find out from just watching, especially when those being watched were not aware of the eyes on them.

The Leaders of the Kingdoms Meet had been an event that was held annually for longer than Laurent had been alive. On the surface, it was held to create peace and comradery between the leaders, as well as other important people of the nations of Vere, Vask, Patras and Akielos. However, the reality was that it was used by the hosting nation to show off the most impressive parts of their culture, and for casual information garnering. No member of any of the royal families truly let their guards down. The nobles on the other hand, drank the best wine of the nation to their hearts content, and then bedded as many pets and other nobles that they could in the space of one night. Laurent was therefore making note of who the more powerful Veretian nobles were flirting with and attempting to bring to their chambers.

His eyes inevitably fell to Auguste’s golden head, a beacon standing out in the brown haired crowd much like he was sure his own was. Auguste was in his element, holding himself proudly and comfortably as King, discussing what looked to be important business with some of the Vaskian leaders. He had their attention and they seemed to be listening attentively to whatever it was he was trying to convince them of.

Laurent had a good idea of what the conversation was about. After the near war with Akielos last year that came from his uncle’s scheming, and the aftereffects of his father’s death, Auguste had a lot to prove in order to convince these nations, especially Akielos, that Vere was not looking for war. Laurent knew though that if anyone could handle this seemingly impossible task it was his brother, and that Vere would be on good terms with both Vask and Patras again by the end of the night, as well as at least civil with Akielos. It was just the effect that Auguste had on people.

Being left alone for this long was turning out to be too good to be true, as Laurent could see a group of men making their way towards where he was standing.

“It’s nice to see you again, Your Highness,” the noblemen gathered around Laurent.

Laurent recognised them as nobles from Patras, who he’d met a few years ago when an envoy came to Vere to renew a trade agreement between the two nations.

“Yes,” Laurent said, hoping to dissuade any further conversation from the men but not being overtly impolite, so as not to cause offence.

The men however were not so easily swayed, and continued to make conversation about the trade that they’d benefited from since the last treaty had been signed.

Even that, Laurent knew, had been on the precipice of not being signed by Vere as a result of his uncle’s machinations. Luckily, his father had held firm and refused to leave Vere alienated and without allies. The trade was an important source of wealth and overall unity between the two nations, and they had been lucky that a conclusion was reached. His uncle’s treasonous plans had been years in the making and it was simply chance that Auguste had caught his uncle when he did, or else who knew what situation Vere would be in. Most likely, his uncle would’ve been ruling as Regent and Laurent would have been all alone. He tried to tune back into the conversation and move his thoughts away from these impossibilities. It hadn’t happened and that was all that mattered.

“Yes,” he agreed with the nobleman standing to his left, “Auguste worked tirelessly to ensure that everyone would be comfortable tonight, and thus typical Veretian entertainment has been left out of tonight’s plans.”

The men laughed knowingly, although some of them looked disappointed that they would not be enjoying the sensuous performances that the Veretian pets were known to put on. 

“Well, Vere is very lucky to have a King who is so understanding of other cultures,” the nobleman beside him paused, “if he hadn’t been of age when the last King passed, then I’m sure your nation would have undoubtedly faced much uncertainty, seeing as your uncle had no desire to rule.”

“Yes, quite,” Laurent agreed succinctly, not appreciating the familiarity with which the man was speaking on Vere’s affairs.

It was a good thing, he thought for the hundredth time, that the public were not aware of the true nature behind his uncle’s so called disappearance from Arles’ Court. Auguste, alongside the Council members, had chosen to have the execution done privately rather than denouncing his treason to the world at large. Vere would not have been able to handle the political instability that this would’ve caused, and the effect of the knowledge spreading that the deceased King’s brother had poisoned him to death over the course of a year. Laurent had agreed that this was the best plan forward when Auguste had discussed it with him before taking the idea to the Council, who were all too willing to concede in order to hide their shame in supporting their uncle’s ideas in the past.

Thus, the other nations, alongside the general public, believed that their uncle had disappeared because he didn’t want to rule Vere. If they were aware of how untrue that really was, it would’ve led to at least one of the nations taking advantage of Vere’s leadership weakness. Auguste already had to undo their uncle’s near success at convincing their father to rage war on Akielos, he did not need to additionally deal with that.

Laurent had been deep in thought over Vere almost falling apart for a while, and the men around him had noticed his subdued behaviour and stayed quiet. The subtle tension was too much for Laurent who quietly excused himself and marched purposefully towards one of the balconies on the other side of the hall. Thankfully, one seemed to be empty and he made his way outside, asking his main guard to stay indoors and ensure that no one bothered him.

“Of course, Your Highness,” Jord left the balcony, keeping an eye out for anyone who may want to disturb Laurent.

Laurent looked over the edge into the vast gardens that were lit only by the moon and breathed in. The weather was unseasonably warm tonight which was the only reason he could stand to be out. He ran too cold to enjoy autumnal evenings and could usually be found near a warm fire this time of year.

“I’m sure His Highness wouldn’t mind sparing me a few minutes of his time,” Laurent was broken out of his thoughts by a deep, warm toned voice.

Turning around, he could see a tall figure only slightly hidden behind Jord’s back. The man truly was very tall, Laurent examined, and was bending slightly to speak to Jord. He must have made a noise, as Jord turned around to face him, looking slightly frazzled. The man must have been pleading his case for some time.

“Your Highness” Jord enquired, “May the King of Akielos have a moment of your time?”

Laurent took in an imperceptible breath. Of course. The Akielons were known for their large statures and the King himself was renowned for being incredibly imposing, in both figure and manner. The man who was now completely visible seemed to be large enough to fit that description, but the charming smile on his face did not seem in the least unfriendly. His thick head of black curls that he pushed back with one hand, almost shyly, also made the man seem almost boyish.

“Yes, he may,” Laurent wasn’t even aware that the words had left his mouth until Jord moved aside to let King Damianos of Akielos pass.

He couldn’t seem to take the words back when Damianos’ eyes crinkled with the force of his smile. His tanned skin was all on show as he was wearing the traditional Akielos chitons and Laurent found it hard to look away from the expanse of it on display.

Laurent had never spoken to the King of Akielos before, so he had no idea why he had allowed the man to come and converse with him. Even when the King had been the Crown Prince only a few years before, they had never crossed paths, partly because Laurent never attended these socialising events, and partly because their two nations had always had a tumultuous relationship, if not almost warring with each other.

“It is much quieter out here, I can see why you have chosen this spot as your haven tonight,” Damianos stood facing him while Jord moved back to guard.

He still wore a smile and seemed unable to look away from Laurent’s face.

“Yes, these events are often too much for me,” Laurent paused, “which is why I’m usually not in attendance.”

He stopped himself from saying anymore. He’d already spoken more about himself than he usually did to strangers, and did not want to let this smiling man in on anymore, King or not.

“Yes, I have noticed that. I’ve had the chance to acquaint myself with your brother many times, but you have not been at these events. I surely would not have missed you if you were,” Damianos seemed surprised that he’d let that much spill out but didn’t backtrack.

“You would not have missed me?” Laurent asked.

“No, I assure you I would not have,” Damianos did not take his eyes off of Laurent.

Laurent moved back over to the edge of the balcony and looked downwards, trying to give himself space from this man who seemed far too earnest for a King.

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” Damianos followed and stood beside him, their arms only a hair width apart.

“I was trying to compliment you” Damianos laughed self-deprecatingly, “but I see I failed miserably.”

“Your reputation gives the impression that you’re much smoother than you seem to be, King Damianos,” Laurent responded, attempting to convey that he was not offended.

“Well, it’s not often that the one I’m trying to impress is an unfairly attractive Prince,” Damianos paused, “and it’s Damen please, Your Highness, the informalities aren’t really for me.”

“Well Damen, I insist you call me Laurent then, if we’re going to be informal,” Laurent hid a small smile as he turned to the side.

When he felt he could face Damen without grinning like a fool, he was met with a radiant smile on the King’s face. Laurent then could not hold back a quick grin of his own before he managed to school his face. There was just something so infectious about the man’s smile, something so genuine and almost childlike that truly did not belong on the face of someone who led an entire nation.

As they moved onto other, more general topics of conversation, Laurent understood why so many were charmed by this King. He was genuine in a way that was impossible to find in Vere, and seemed kind in a way that Laurent had never been faced with before. He was also surprisingly funny and witty; able to respond to Laurent’s remarks with quick jabs of his own that had Laurent battling smiles the entire time.

The conversation quickly turned to slightly more personal topics; their families, their friends and their hobbies and interests. It seemed that although they enjoyed different things in their daily lives; Laurent preferring to read and horse ride whilst Damen enjoyed engaging in sporting activities such as wrestling and swordsmanship, the conversation did not end, and they were both equally interested in what the other liked to do. It helped that their love and protectiveness over their families was a trait they shared. Laurent could not have said whether hours had passed or mere minutes, his enjoyment of Damen’s company kept him intrigued in a way no other person besides Auguste had managed to do over the course of his life.

“How did you know I was out here?”, Laurent asked when there was a lull in conversation for the first time.

“I was watching you,” Damen replied unashamedly.

“You were?”

“It’s hard not to when you look the way you do, and I couldn’t risk someone else trying to have a moment of your time before I did.”

Damen moved closer, taking his hand from where it rested on the balcony edge to place it gently on top of Laurents’.

“I know we only met today Laurent,” Damen started saying, “but speaking to you just now has been the easiest conversation I’ve had with someone in a long time, maybe ever, and I don’t want this to end. I don’t know how that will work exactly, but I like you. So much. And I want whatever this could be,” he gestured between the two of them with the hand not on top of Laurents’.

Laurent couldn’t seem to bring forth any words from his mouth. His entire brain was screaming YES but he couldn’t quite verbalise anything just yet, still in shock over the earnestness of Damen’s words.

“And I think you’re undeniably beautiful, in case I haven’t made that clear already” Damen smiled.

“You have,” Laurent cleared his throat, “made that very clear.”

Laurent made sure to look Damen directly in his eyes when he said, “And I feel the same way,” so that when Damen’s face lit up with a smile, he could appreciate the full force of it directed at him.

Damen opened his mouth to say something back when there was noise at the entrance to the balcony.

Jord moved aside as someone said, “Exalted, there are many nobles asking for your whereabouts.”

A man, similar in build to Damen but not as tall, stood in the doorway looking between both Damen and Laurent. He then stared at Damen’s face whilst Damen glared back at him. They seemed to be having a silent argument, the kind that Laurent and Auguste excelled in after practicing for so many years. Thus, Laurent assumed, the two must be very close in order to be able to communicate in this manner so effectively. Whatever argument they seemed to be having Damen must have lost, as he sighed loudly and then the man nodded and walked away smugly.

“That completely awful human being is Nikandros, my best friend, he’s also one of my trusted kyros” Damen began by saying, turning to Laurent again, “he’s usually not this awful but I have been shirking my duties as King today, so I guess he has a point.”

Laurent could tell from the fondness in Damen’s voice that there was a true bond between the two of them, and although he wanted to immediately dislike the man for taking Damen from their conversation, seeing Damen’s care for him tempered that feeling slightly.

“Well, I can’t keep you from your Kingly duties forever,” Laurent said understandingly.

“I wish you could’ve,” Damen responded, and Laurent was shocked at how many times Damen managed to, in one conversation, disarm him with his genuineness.

“We’ll talk again before I leave, I promise,” Damen said, making his way towards the doorway.

Laurent nodded and then watched him go.

It was harder now that Damen had left, to hold back the expressions on his face as he stood on the balcony for an immeasurable amount of time replaying their conversation in his mind. By the time he’d returned to the hall, the evening was winding down and there were only a handful of couples left dancing in the centre of the hall, and a few groups of people talking on the outskirts. It made it easier to spot Damen who seemed to be talking to another head of golden hair.

“I’m hoping to avoid the mistakes of our fathers, especially their willingness to resort to bloodshed the first chance they could,” Laurent heard Auguste explain, as he finally reached where he and Damen were conversing.

They both looked over at him with smiles and he had to taper down one of his own, simply nodding in greeting. Before his emergence, he was pleased to see the willingness to listen, and perhaps even agreement in Damen’s face at Auguste’s words.

“I don’t think you’ve had the chance to meet my brother yet Damen,” Auguste gestured to Laurent, “this is His Highness Prince Laurent,” Auguste knew how Laurent disliked informality from people he did not know.

“We’ve met,” at Auguste’s confused look Laurent continued, “Damen was kind enough to make my acquaintance earlier this evening as we’ve never been introduced.”

Auguste raised an eyebrow at the familiarity implied by Laurent’s use of the Akielon King’s nickname, but continued smiling, nonetheless.

“I’m very happy I did,” Damen said, and Laurent graced him with a small smile.

“Well I’m glad too, seeing as you’ll be spending some time in each other’s company very soon,” at Laurent’s questioning look Auguste explained, “I’ve invited Damen to join us in a month’s time to discuss a formal treaty of peace, as well as trade between our nations. It’s about time that the new generation fix the mistakes of the older one.”

Damen hummed in agreement and looked over at Laurent who was struggling to hide his pleased expression. The chance to spend what could be weeks in Damen’s company while his brother negotiated a treaty was a real chance to get to know Damen. If he continued to be as charming as he had been this evening, then Laurent knew undoubtedly that he was going to be in trouble. He was already grappling with hiding his expressions of happiness from the man.

The hall’s near emptiness explained Auguste’s willingness to speak with Damen in public. The feud between the two nations was very well known to all in attendance, and seeing the two Kings converse could have sent the rumour mill into a frenzy with all sorts of false claims over the topics being discussed.

“Laurent we should retire for the night, we’ll have to see off the nobles leaving quite early in the morning,” Auguste said, and with a last nod at Damen, held onto Laurent’s arm and walked out of the hall, without giving Laurent the chance to say his goodbye to Damen.

Laurent tried to hold back a sigh as they walked through the corridors, the guards following them silently.

“He’s much nicer than his father was, it makes me hopeful for a real change between Vere and Akielos,” Auguste said.

All Laurent could manage was a hum of assent, thinking about how nice other parts of Damen had been, like his hands and his broad, tanned shoulders. He was pulled out of his reverie by Auguste bidding him goodnight and the hope to see him bright and early tomorrow. He was so preoccupied in his thoughts, he didn’t even have the chance to argue about not wanting to see the Lords off, and was left standing outside of his chambers’ doors with his guards.

Laurent knew he was in for a long night of recalling the best parts of the evening, all of which included a charming, handsome King.

***

In the morning, Laurent found himself waiting at the top of the staircase for Auguste to join him. Most of the nobles would be leaving in the afternoon, in order to let themselves recoup after a night of drinking, and for some of them, lovemaking, so they only had a handful to see off. This task was another he would’ve avoided if his father had been alive, but he knew how important it was to present a strong front to the other nations. Even if there was mostly an allyship between them all, it was never a good idea to give them the slightest hint that Vere was not as strong as them in any way.

Through Laurent’s contemplation, he failed to notice the man who was now standing directly in front of him. Laurent recognised him as Nikandros, Damen’s trusted kyros.

“Is there something the matter?” Laurent had to ask as the man stayed silent, simply analysing Laurent knowingly.

“His Majesty had to leave unexpectedly this morning,” Nikandros started off by explaining, “he asked me to convey the message that he wished it were not so, and that it truly was an unforeseen circumstance, else he would’ve said goodbye in person.”

Each word that left Nikandros’ mouth seemed to be paining him. Laurent could not help but be amused at how close the two of them clearly were, which meant Nikandros could speak in this manner about his King. At Laurent’s inquiry Nikandros clarified that everything was okay in Akielos, but it was simply a matter that could only be solved by a King, and that the rest of the Akielons would be leaving within the hour. He handed over an envelope to Laurent.

“My King has also asked for this letter to be passed on to you,” Nikandros explained sufferingly and then barely nodded in goodbye before leaving.

Laurent opened the letter apprehensively, unable to imagine what Damen could have written to him before leaving.

After reading through the letter twice, Laurent was finally able to make sense of the words. It was short and to the point, and most importantly disarmingly honest, much like the man who had written it.

_My dearest Laurent,_

_I hope you do not take the further informality offensively, but you have quickly become dear to my heart and I would like to address you as such. I apologise for leaving so abruptly, but I had unforeseen Kingly matters to deal with. If it were up to me, I’d never leave your side. All I could think last night in my rooms was that I want to find out everything about you, so I can know you as well as the back of my hand. And then I want to know you some more._

_I hope you and I can write to one another over the coming month so that I feel like I have delved somewhat into the wonderous cavern that is your mind. Then, by the time I return to Vere I will be much more knowledgeable in who you are and you, I._

_My utmost hope right now is that you feel even a fraction of the scope of my feelings for you, and that you will allow me to court you with my words before officially gaining the approval of your brother to court you as you deserve._

_Eagerly waiting your response,_

_Your Damen_

Laurent wanted to rush back to his rooms to write a response, something more subtle as he wasn’t prone to reveal his feelings so quickly, but no less enthusiastic in the desire to continue to build on what the two of them had. But before he could return to his chambers, Auguste had appeared, and with an apologetic look informed him that after seeing the Lords off they were needed for a Council meeting. Laurent, in turn, told him about Damen’s abrupt departure.

The goodbyes were thankfully short, with most of the Lords extolling last night’s food and wine as they boarded their carriages. In no time at all the last of the Lords had departed and the two brothers made their way to the meeting room, where the Council was waiting for them. Laurent knew that he’d have to let Auguste know there was something slowly transpiring between himself and Damen, so that when Damen asked for permission to court him Auguste wasn’t blind sighted. He would have liked to discuss it as quickly as possible, but this surprise meeting had derailed that plan. No matter, Laurent thought, he’d just have to ask to have dinner privately with Auguste in his rooms, and then would notify him of it without the prying eyes and ears of Arles’ Court.

Laurent was unaware of what the meeting would be about, so he held himself quietly at the table where all the members of Auguste’s Council sat.

“Last night was a great success; Vere now looks more stable, and stronger than ever. Many of the leaders of the other nations made sure to assure me that my late father’s treaties with their nations still stood, and that they would be proud to continue respecting the treaties under my new leadership,” Auguste began by saying.

There emerged the sounds of muted joy from the Council members, some, such as Councillor Guion who was quite supportive of their uncle’s ideas of raging war on all these nations, looked surprised that Auguste had managed this. Laurent wasn’t surprised in the least. If anyone was capable of leading a nation after the effects of a battle in leadership, it was Auguste, who epitomised everything it meant to be King.

Auguste was clearly gearing up to say more as he tensed slightly next to Laurent.

“I am also endeavouring to build a connection with Akielos, and myself and King Damianos have discussed the basis of a treaty,” this announcement had the opposite effect on the Council.

“You’re entertaining the idea of talking peace with those barbarians?” Guion questioned.

With that, the rest of the Council started up on denouncing Auguste’s plans, proclaiming that Akielons were uncivilised warmongers who could not be reasoned with, as their entire nation was built on fighting. This then devolved into proclamations onto the character of Akielos’ late King who was the worst of all, and how his son was infamous for his battle skill and therefore must not be any different.

“King Damianos is nothing like his father,” Auguste interrupted, “and his invitation back to Vere in a month’s time still stands. This meeting has broken into childlike arguing. If there are any actual concerns you have, you may bring them forth to me and I will calmly discuss them with you. As nothing more productive will be coming out of this meeting, my brother and I will be leaving.”

With that, Auguste rose, and Laurent was quick to follow him as they left the meeting room.

“Trying to convince them in the coming month will not be an easy task,” Auguste sighed, running a hand tiredly over his face as they walked through the corridor.

Laurent could already envision the amount of stress this would cause Auguste, and how hard Auguste was going to work to have the Councillors feel more civility towards Akielos and their King before the man himself arrived.

“I’m going to head to my office to research the grounds for a treaty so myself and Damen can start building something without the Council’s interference. I’m sure his own advisors won’t be happy with our plans either. Hopefully, if we have something more solid to show them, they’ll see that neither of us is acting illogically,” Auguste rolled his eyes.

Laurent declined in joining him and told him he’d see him at the next meal.

As Laurent sat at his desk in his chambers, a piece of paper in front of him waiting for his response to Damen, he started to think about Auguste. Initially, he had wanted to tell him about Damen and their impending courtship this evening. However, seeing the difficulty that Auguste was having in convincing the Council that Akielos should be a true ally to Vere, that plan may have to be pushed back. Perhaps even indefinitely.

Laurent could not imagine any universe in which the Council would be happy to have their Prince courted and possibly wed to the Akielon King, especially considering that Auguste remained unmarried and heirless, and thus Vere could at some point fall under Laurent’s leadership. Laurent knew the best thing to do would be to politely decline Damen’s advances and work with Auguste on securing an allyship between the two nations.

But then Laurent thought of Damen’s smile, and his charm, and his beautiful face and couldn’t bring himself to put the words to paper. He was sure Damen, in all his kindness, would understand that their nations would have to come first, and that their developing relationship would have the best chance of survival if it remained hidden for a while. Laurent would have to be as persuasive as possible, especially because he wasn’t as optimistic as Auguste that it would be possible to convince the Council that the allyship was a good idea before Damen’s arrival, and knew that they’d likely have to behave as mere acquaintances when that visit happened.

Picking up his pen, he started to write, knowing he had a slightly difficult task ahead of him, but also knowing that Damen was worth all the possible secrecy. He also could not believe that he could so clearly envision marrying the man after only speaking to him once.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello to the 150+ of you who are reading! That's way more than I thought it would be and I'm so glad some of you have enjoyed my writing enough to leave kudos. I get that reading a WIP is torture so I'm sorry for the wait but I hope the 6k word count of this chapter makes up for it.
> 
> Unfortunately with uni starting up again I can't say when the final chapter will be up but I will try and get it done ASAP. I also changed the rating cos of the little bit of sexy times I insinuate and the use of one (kind of?) curse word, I honestly don't know how rating works so I hope it's accurate.
> 
> I also realised that this story is not in any way inspired by 'Peace' anymore but the initial plan I had for this story was somewhat more so, but then this changed completely! Sooooo whoops?
> 
> Anywhoo, hope you enjoy this update, let me know your thoughts in the comments...and pls don't kill me for the cliffhanger? Soz

Laurent glanced around the secluded spot in Arles’ palace gardens that he was in, and inhaled the aroma of the carnations and hydrangeas that were blooming beautifully around him. The gardens were one of his favourite parts to roam in the past month, mainly because no one bothered him, and he was free to read his correspondence alone. Whilst he usually read and responded to matters of state that Auguste entrusted him with in his study, the last month he’d taken to reading his private letters here in the garden.

The letters from Damen had not ceased in the month it’d been since Laurent had last seen him, sometimes letters would come for him mere days apart, showing that Damen was writing all the time. The letters, he knew, would have definitely raised Auguste’s eyebrows if he’d seen the frequency with which they were arriving, so he made sure to have them only delivered to his chambers. As he walked the gardens, he cast his mind back to snippets of Damen’s past letters that he’d memorized because of how often he had re-read them.

_I don’t know how I wake up each morning without seeing your face; it’s strange, I only saw you for part of an evening but your small smiles when you were amused (and dare I hope impressed) with what I said to you are ingrained in my mind so deeply, that I can picture it when I close my eyes. Let me take a moment to picture your face now, sweetheart, it’s the only thing getting me through these weeks._

_I love hearing about the way you work, both from you and from Auguste. You must know by now how brilliant you are and how much your brother takes into account your opinion on matters. In Akielos this type of thought is not seen as a particular asset, but I don’t care. Your brain astounds me and the way that you are always two steps ahead of anyone else is exactly what I want by my side. Forever._

And the most memorable:

_It is late, and I am drunk, and I should not be writing. I know this. But I fear I will lose my nerve to tell you this when sober. I am falling in love with you Prince Laurent. Treat me tenderly for I do not think I could take too much harshness right now._

On Laurent’s part, he’d found himself writing back carefully worded letters with far more emotion than he was used to showing. They had shared so much over the last month that Laurent became quickly enraptured by Damen’s heartfelt declarations, as well as the mindless babble in the letters that were clearly the product of Damen’s boredom throughout the day.

They had very different writing styles too, Laurent had come to realise. While he thought all day about the letter’s content and composed multiple drafts before he managed to send one, Damen clearly wrote down everything on his mind in a stream of consciousness and sent them all. For both of them, their feelings had developed an unbelievable degree in the short amount of time that they’d been writing, and though Laurent had not responded with words of love like Damen had, he’d made it clear in his own way that there was a reciprocity. Damen had understood.

“Your Highness?” Laurent turned around to the servant’s call, “King Auguste has asked for your presence, I believe the Akielons have been sighted and will be at the Palace soon.”

Laurent gestured for the servant to lead the way and followed him to Auguste’s study. When entering, Auguste was stood behind his desk, staring out of the window, with his face deep in thought and his shoulders hunched, carrying all the tension from the last few weeks. He hadn’t even noticed Laurent’s arrival.

The servant shut the door quietly behind him as he left, and Laurent sat himself down on one of the chairs facing the desk.

“You called, dear brother?” he asked, lounging casually on the seat. Auguste jumped, turning quickly to face him. Laurent looked back at him impassively.

“Must you give me a fright?” Auguste demanded, removing his hand from the hilt of his sword where it had immediately gone to.

“I called you _dear brother_ \- was that not clear enough as to who had entered your room? Also, you should pay better attention to your surroundings, it could have been anyone.”

“I called for _you_ and my guards are outside, who else could it have been?” Auguste reasoned.

“So why the fear then?”

Auguste rolled his eyes in response.

He walked away from the window and forwent sitting on his chair to prop himself against the desk. From that position he could see Laurent’s whole body, which he gave a once-over and raised an eyebrow to what he saw.

“You’re dressed very casual,” Laurent looked down. For anyone else that statement would not have borne true, but Laurent was known for his austere, fully covered clothing and today was different in comparison.

He was wearing his usual tightly laced trousers, but whilst he customarily paired it with high necked laced shirts, today he wore a flowing blouse. The sleeves were far looser than anything he’d worn, cuffed at the sleeve slightly, but still loose enough to fall down if he lifted his arms. His neck was on show.

“So are you,” he told his brother who was wearing an Akielon chiton.

“In the name of cooperation, sacrifices must be made,” Auguste claimed.

“I agree,” Laurent responded and refused to say anymore.

“Well I will say one thing,” Auguste paused, “these chitons allow for much easier access when necessary.”

Laurent shook his head at his brother’s crassness.

“Shall we actually make our way to greet the Akielons?” he stood up and Auguste laughed at the discomfort Laurent was sure could be seen clearly on his face. Auguste put his arm around him as they made their way through the corridor with their guards following.

As they walked towards the main entrance to the Palace, Auguste started talking about his favourite topic of conversation in the last few weeks: Damen. Whilst the both of them had been writing about the treaty, they had slowly started to speak on more casual, personal matters and now, weeks later, were on track to becoming fast friends. They found they had similar hobbies, and could each understand the other’s pressure to be a good ruler.

Auguste was in the middle of recounting the last letter where the Kings had made plans to practice duelling, when they passed a Councillor who barely nodded to his King in greeting before continuing to walk. That effectively stopped Auguste’s storytelling and he abruptly went silent.

Laurent found yet another reason to dislike the Councillors. They had been the greatest source of tension for Auguste for the last month, refusing to budge on their view that Akielons should be held at a distance, and that creating a treaty with the Akielon King was the biggest mistake Auguste was making. Even the more understanding Councillors like Vannes and Estienne were refusing to speak up on Auguste’s behalf. Laurent knew that they had their own convoluted reasons for doing so, but he couldn’t help but dislike the pain it was causing Auguste to have no support in his Council.

And just when Auguste was behaving more like himself for the first time in a near month, the Council found their way to ruin that too.

They’d reached the doorway to the Palace and Auguste remained quiet. The main guards opened the large, wooden doors and let both brothers out where they stood waiting for the Akielons. Before long, one of the watchmen from the gateway ran up to where they were and announced, “Your Majesty, Your Highness, the Akielons have arrived,” breathlessly.

From the distance a small group could be seen emerging on horseback and Laurent prepared himself for the first sighting of Damen in a month. He quickly realised that nothing could have prepared him for the vision that Damen was as he rode in on a stallion the colour of the night sky. He looked strong and capable and the lack of a crown on his head did nothing to dissuade the Kingliness of him.

As the envoy came closer Laurent recognised Nikandros riding just behind Damen, but couldn’t name the other men who were most likely some of Damen’s advisors. Damen got off the horse in one swift, graceful movement and walked up the stone stairway to the doorway.

“Our Veretian brother,” Damen greeted, smiling warmly with one hand outstretched.

“Our Akielon brother,” Auguste responded, meeting Damen for a clasping of their hands and then, to the surprise of the Akielons, drew Damen in for an embrace. “It’s good to see you again, we have much to discuss.”

Damen embraced him back naturally and murmured an agreement. He then turned to face Laurent for the first time.

Laurent watched Damen’s eyes track over his clothes, lingering on the top half of his body and his collarbones, before meeting his eyes. Something in his expression softened and Laurent smiled slightly in response, not wanting to be as expressive.

“It’s good to see you again Laurent,” Damen held out his arm which Laurent clasped and then let go of quickly.

“Yes, it’s good to have you all here,” Laurent let his eyes move across the other men behind Damen, “as my brother said, we have good work that needs to be done.”

He then turned to walk away; he heard Auguste asking the Akielons to follow him as they entered, but by then Laurent had left. He didn’t pause at any point as he walked straight backed towards his chambers, even when he heard mutterings from the people in the hallways. He had forgotten that his clothing was unlike his usual and that it was bound to get people talking.

When he entered his rooms, he made sure to notify Jord that he did not want to be disturbed. And then he could finally breathe. He slowly started to take off his flowing shirt and picked up one of his usual laced ones, putting it on, but leaving it unlaced for a servant to help him with when he felt like being in the company of another person.

He had not anticipated the feelings that had emerged at seeing and touching Damen again. He was finding it much harder than expected to subdue his joy and not behave like a teenager with a crush. And Damen was not even attempting to hide his feelings; they showed on his face for everyone to see.

Laurent loved that about Damen usually, however, he knew that their building relationship would have to stay under wraps until their respective nations were willing to cooperate. Damen had admitted in his letter when he was informed of the plan, that deception, no matter the form, was not his forte so Laurent knew he’d be bearing the brunt work.

But this new development of having all his feelings at the forefront of his mind when confronted with Damen, seemed to suggest that the best thing for Laurent to do would be to keep his distance for a little while. At least until he felt he could successfully behave like Damen was just another delegate from another nation.

***

Over the past week and a half, Laurent could admit that he was doing very well in keeping his distance from Damen.

It helped that Damen and Auguste were behaving like long lost brothers. In any other circumstance Laurent may have felt a little put out at the ease at which Auguste had bonded with Damen, but all Laurent felt was happiness that Auguste had found a companion. Auguste could never really make true friends because he was always a station above the men he spent most time with, as their King. He also found it hard to trust others after their uncle’s infiltration of Arles’ court.

Damen had no connection to the Veretian nobles and was the complete opposite of all of them. He was trustworthy, loyal and most importantly, every thought of his showed clear as day on his face, making him the least underhanded person that there could be.

The two Kings spent their days in gruelling meetings, working without pause to convince the Council that a treaty was a good idea. The amount of effort they were having to put in to do this, meant that they couldn’t really get started on the treaty’s actual content. Laurent stayed as far away from this as possible and only knew of it because he eavesdropped on the gossiping servants and guards. 

In the late afternoons and evenings however, they spent their time either practicing duelling or teaching each other their nations’ popular sports. They then chose to have dinner privately in Auguste’s rooms and those topics of their conversation were not something that Laurent could be privy to, unfortunately.

He had managed to avoid the meetings by disdainfully claiming to Auguste that trying to convince the Council to listen to their King was not something that Laurent would willingly subject himself to. He knew that his brother was attempting to invite him to their private dinners, but Laurent always made himself scarce, recognising that he was not ready to face Damen just yet. His good luck seemed to have run out a week and a half into this.

“Brother,” Auguste entered his rooms, and Laurent internally lamented that he didn’t notify Jord that he wanted to be alone, wrongly assuming that Auguste would be too busy to visit him.

“I want to invite you to have dinner with Damen and I in my rooms tonight,” Auguste told him, “I would’ve invited you to begin with, but I usually can’t find you this time of day.”

Laurent couldn’t hold back the guilty expression that emerged on his face when Auguste looked at him disapprovingly. He knew that Auguste was assuming he did not want to spend any time with the Akielons because he didn’t like them for whatever reason. Laurent didn’t correct him, knowing that he couldn’t tell his brother the truth behind his avoidance.

Nevertheless, it was the guilt at his brother’s disappointment that made him say, “Of course I’ll be there,” and although he regretted the words, he couldn’t take them back when he saw Auguste’s pleased expression.

Both Kings continued to be busy for the rest of the day so Laurent didn’t see his brother or Damen, and made sure he wouldn’t accidentally bump into either of them by staying in his rooms the entire day, reading and generally getting worked up at the thought of being in close courters to Damen again. By the time he stood outside his brother’s rooms he was feeling much calmer after dwelling so long about it in private, and was able to enter the room without panicking.

Seeing Damen again, smiling as usual, sat at one of the low armchairs, sipping on a glass of wine, also didn’t frazzle him as he was prepared for it. He wasn’t prepared for Damen’s face to drop slightly when Laurent did not return the smile and merely nodded at him.

“Laurent! Finally!” Auguste was clearly a few glasses in and was exuberantly gesturing for Laurent to sit.

“You,” he pointed right in Laurent’s face once they’d both sat on armchairs opposite each other with Damen sitting between them, “have been very distant this last week and I need you to not be.”

“And why, pray tell, is that?”

“Because! I miss having you around,” Auguste said with the earnestness only a drunk person could achieve, “especially considering how damn stupid the Council are being,” he sighed sadly.

Laurent looked over at Damen who also seemed to be feeling the same waves of dejection that Auguste was, as he hadn’t looked up since Laurent entered and was instead staring morosely at his cup as he took far too many sips.

“The Council haven’t come ‘round yet then?” Laurent inquired, choosing to ignore Damen for the time being.

“I wish,” Auguste scoffed in response, “but no sad thoughts for this evening! I’ve decided,” he nodded decisively, and then started up on a spiel about how much he missed spending days engaging in sword fighting and hand to hand combat.

Damen was broken out of his stupor by this and joined in happily with his own stories of the fun he could get up to as a mere Prince with no responsibilities, spending all day wrestling if that was what he wished to do.

“And spending all day in bed with a woman if you wanted to, I’m sure,” Auguste said suggestively.

Damen nodded embarrassedly, darting a glance to Laurent who kept his face free of emotion. In any case, Laurent was too deep in thought to pay much attention to the conversation that was happening, and was trying to figure out how to make the Council magically accept Akielos overnight.

Almost as if Auguste had been reading his thoughts he said, “well, hopefully I’ll have more luck tomorrow. And in the meantime, you and Laurent can have the chance to bond.”

“Why will we be bonding tomorrow?” Laurent asked, realising that he’d completely tuned out of their chatter and had missed something important.

“Well, I’m hoping that I can try and convince the Council on my own tomorrow, so I’ve given Damen the day off. I thought it’d be nice if you could show him the nearby lands and go riding with him,” Auguste said hopefully.

Then, driving the last nail in the coffin he said, “I’d love if the person who I have come to care for greatly as a friend, and the person who I love most in the world were to get along.”

Laurent looked over at Damen who couldn’t hide the hopefulness in his face either and sighed a “yes, of course I’ll spend the day with Damen.”

They both beamed back at him. Laurent then realised that the whole day would consist of him and Damen spending time with each other in the middle of nowhere, and then couldn’t hold back his own smile.

***

The next morning Laurent was up early, corralling the kitchen staff into preparing a picnic. Then, when he realised there was still at least a half hour left till Damen would join him, he decided to go to the stables to brush down his horse in preparation for the day.

It was as he was doing this, deep in thought over the route he’d be taking, that he heard a noise at the stable’s entrance.

“This feels familiar,” Damen tilted his head, watching Laurent’s arm assuredly brush down the horse, and Laurent remembered that he’d chosen to wear his Akielon inspired shirt today again. He looked around, and when he realised that the stables were completely deserted, dared to move up to Damen till he was so close he had to tilt his head up to look at Damen’s face.

“Hello Damen,” he said softly.

“Hi Laurent,” Damen replied.

“I apologise for not greeting you the way I should have when you arrived, I just- “

“How would you have greeted me- if you could have- that day?” Damen interrupted.

Pausing to gather up his courage, Laurent took in a breath and murmured, “like this,” and then leaned up to kiss Damen softly on the cheek. He felt Damen smile so largely that a dimple emerged against his lips for a moment before he leaned away. When Damen’s full face was in view again, he saw that his eyes had darkened.

“We should leave now,” his voice seemed to have become deeper suddenly too, “unless you want me to ravage you like the barbarian your people seem to think I am.”

“Well, we can’t have that now can we?” Laurent flirted back with newfound confidence.

He then gracefully mounted his horse and gestured for Damen to do the same.

“And bring the basket with you,” he called back, riding away at a gallop. He laughed quietly to himself when he could hear Damen curse under his breath and then hasten to follow.

Laurent was pleased to note that as they rode at a brisk speed out of the gates, they didn’t see any of the Palace’s people, so he was free to laugh and smile at all of Damen’s jokes. He could truly let his guard down once they were on greenery and he continued to be reactive to Damen’s storytelling about the mayhem he and Nikandros would get up to in their youth.

“How much further?” Damen looked at him inquiringly.

“Just up ahead there,” Laurent rode ahead and stopped in front of a large oak tree. The grass was still green here, not yet affected by the change in season and there were still some flowers left alive too. Laurent’s favourite thing about this clearing was that it was completely empty; not a soul to be seen, as most people didn’t ride out this far.

He jumped down off his horse and tied him to the tree. Damen was quick to follow, and Laurent occupied himself by unfolding the blanket on the ground and getting out the food that had been packed inside the basket.

“You planned a picnic for us?” Damen noticed.

“I thought it would be nice.”

“It is nice. Thank you,” Damen smiled as he lowered himself down onto the blanket, taking up most of the space. Laurent thought he should have perhaps packed a larger one; he’d forgotten how broad Damen was.

“I wanted to say earlier, but I’d been rudely interrupted,” Laurent began, giving Damen a look, “that I’m sorry for the distance I’ve been keeping since you arrived at Arles. I know that in an ideal world we would be able to spend all day together, but no one knows how close we’ve become over the course of our correspondence- not even Auguste- and I don’t think I’d have been able to hide it if I had to see your face every day.”

Laurent paused, waiting for Damen’s response. It seemed however that Damen was going to ignore everything that Laurent had said as he only asked, “What is it exactly about my face that would make it hard for you?”

“You know what you look like,” Laurent could feel the flush on his cheeks. He unfortunately couldn’t blame it on the sun as it was only mildly warm that day.

“And say I didn’t know,” Damen said slowly, feeling out every word in his mouth, “what would _you_ say about my looks?”

He then leaned back on his arms, one leg propped up and waited, watching Laurent with what looked to be his bedroom eyes. Laurent would liken his behaviour to an animal he’d read about before, a peacock, that liked to parade itself and preen when it wanted his mate’s attention. Damen was exhibiting peacock like behaviour here for him. He refused to indulge Damen and simply pushed one of his arms so unexpectedly that he almost toppled backwards but seemed to catch himself in time. Laurent couldn’t smother the laughter that emerged out of him.

Soon, they were both laughing and whatever awkwardness they might have felt at being properly alone together for the first time was broken. The flirtation from Damen’s part, however, did not stop. They opened up the food containers and started to eat, both of them having missed breakfast and having ridden for a while, found themselves in desperate need for food.

Laurent preferred to eat sweet fruits for his morning meal, so he reached for the berries while Damen seemed to be happy to eat his weight in cheeses and bread. As Laurent reached over for another berry, Damen plucked it right out of his hand and with a murmured, “Let me,” continued to feed the food right into Laurent’s mouth.

After a few rounds of this, Laurent felt comfortable enough to lean right up against Damen’s chest and pick up a piece of bread with cheese, holding it in front of Damen’s mouth. Damen leaned over and opened his mouth to take the food, his lips on Laurent’s fingers for a moment more than necessary. He chewed it slowly, his eyes dark and never leaving Laurent’s face.

When he put the next red berry into Laurent’s mouth after that, in one smooth motion he adjusted their position so that they were facing one another, and then followed the berry’s journey with his own mouth.

***

Sometime later, when they had kissed and pressed against each other to their hearts’ content, with Damen paying particular attention to Laurent’s exposed collarbones, they rested with both of them laying on their backs, Laurent’s head on Damen’s chest and their hands intertwined between them.

They had been discussing the most recent book Laurent had been reading which he’d written about briefly in his last letter to Damen, steering clear of anything too serious at that point, but Laurent had been mulling over a thought for the last month that he wanted to hear about from Damen.

“Do you mind if I ask- “ Laurent started saying.

“You can ask me anything, I don’t mind, you know this,” Damen, interrupted, ever the romantic.

Laurent rolled his eyes in response.

“You might regret that once you hear what it is,” he muttered quietly to himself.

“Anyway,” he continued loud enough for Damen to hear, “you know how our country sees you Akielons as barbarians- “

“I’m _your_ barbarian sweetheart,” Damen interrupted again, eyebrows wriggling.

“Will you let me finish?!” Laurent laughed, “as I was saying, our country sees all of you like this mainly because of how hungry your father had been for war,” Laurent felt Damen’s posture straighten up, all the laughter leaving him. 

“Which we saw first-hand when our countries were almost at war,” Laurent continued, “and _you_ were raised by your father. So what I’m trying to ask is just- how did you not become like him? Why are you so ready to talk peace with my brother when your father would _never_ have considered it? It can’t have been easy to convince your Kyros, and it must be harder still when they see what our Council is like- I just- why are you just so good?”

Laurent felt all the words fall out of his mouth unfiltered and he didn’t take any of them back, even though he knew he perhaps should have been more tactful. Damen didn’t look angry, he noticed, which was good. Instead he looked thoughtful, like he was truly considering the question so that he could answer in the best way. He didn’t say anything else, letting Damen think.

“You’re right in saying that my father was a very avid supporter for war. I can’t fully understand why I’m not the same way, considering how he raised me,” Damen sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. Laurent reached over to hold the hand between his own.

“I guess the reason why, is because as soon as I was old enough to go and fight in the battles rather than just training in the Palace to be the best warrior, I realised that war- it’s not as grand and victorious as it looks- it really _should_ just be used as the last resort. Seeing men _willingly_ die for their King in situations that could have been prevented, showed me how wrong my father was to jump so quickly into war. That then made me want to be different,” Damen explained.

“It’s probably not the full explanation, I’m sure other things had a part in it but it’s the main reason I can think of.”

“That makes sense,” Laurent replied softly.

“Can I ask a question- now that we’re discussing these important matters?” Damen inquired.

“Yes, of course.”

“Can you- if you can- tell me about your uncle?” Damen must have felt Laurent stiffen as he hastily added, “I just- Auguste said some things that made me think that perhaps he hadn’t left Arles because he had no desire to rule.”

He then gently added, “it seems quite heavy. You and your brother seem to be carrying it with no one to speak to about it, so perhaps speaking and venting to me may make it feel better for you- only if you want to of course.”

Laurent thought for a moment. He knew that if he told Damen he would never take advantage of the information and he was starting to see how much Damen was willing to share with him. Laurent was beginning to trust Damen completely, in a way that he only trusted Auguste, and he wanted to reciprocate Damen’s honesty with his own.

So, he took in a breath and started to explain. He started with a few years ago when his uncle had infiltrated the Court, slowly but surely garnering support from certain nobles. At the same time, he explained, their uncle had been poisoning their father with a slow acting poison that would eventually kill him. Laurent felt Damen tense up when he explained that they’d been too late, their father had succumbed to the poison and died at the hands of his power hungry brother.

He then went on to say that it was mere luck that just days before his coronation, Auguste had overheard the conversation his uncle was having with a nobleman from a nearby town. His uncle had let his guard down for the first time in two years and implicated himself; he’d revealed everything about pushing their father to go to war with Akielos, about the poison and how he planned to do the same to Auguste so that Laurent, who was too young to rule would be pushed aside for their uncle to be Regent. He’d then have the power to destroy Laurent any way he wanted to.

Damen’s arms came around him, engulfing him in a warm embrace, his head on top of Laurent’s, with his face pressed into the top of Laurent’s hair. This gave Laurent the courage to finish the tale about the execution that was held in private and the story being spread that their uncle was not interested in ruling Vere.

“Thank you for telling me,” Damen murmured.

“It actually helped, surprisingly,” Laurent responded, and they spent the rest of their time just laying with each other, breathing softly and enjoying each other’s company.

They returned back to the Palace as they realised that the shorter days meant the sun would set soon, and they did not want to be riding without protection at nightfall, although Damen insisted he’d be able to take down any rogue bandits they might have come across. When they had given their horses back to the stable boys, they separated, with Laurent heading for his brother and Damen going to the garden where it’d be empty, and Laurent would meet him once he was done.

Walking towards the rooms where he’d be more likely to find his brother, Laurent was overwhelmed by feelings of adoration for Damen. The man was truly so wonderful and even just sitting in silence with him had felt so natural. He wanted to tell Auguste right away about what was transpiring between them and felt somewhat hopeful that Auguste would be supportive.

As Laurent reached up to knock on the door of the meeting room where he thought he’d heard voices, the door was suddenly thrown open and Laurent immediately stepped to the side so as not to be seen by whoever had emerged.

“I do not see my views changing at any point, King Auguste,” it was Guion who was leaving, with some other Council members with him, “the Akielons _cannot_ be trusted, and I refuse to give my support for any type of harmony with them.”

Guion said harmony like it was a foul word, the idea so absurd that he was disgusted by the mere thought of it. Laurent could see a few others nodding along.

He realised that no one had noticed him, so he took his chance to leave, not wanting to hear anymore. What he had heard was like a bucket of cold water that had been dropped on his head; a reality check. He practically ran through the Palace and down the stairs so that when he reached where Damen was standing, a vision with the setting sun behind him and flowers around him, he was panting for breath.

“What’s happened?” Damen was immediately concerned.

“I just,” Laurent struggled to get the words out, “realised how impossible this is,” he gestured between them.

“How impossible what is?” Damen asked slowly.

“They’ll never accept a union between us, they can’t even accept a peace treaty! We’ll probably never be together publicly; we’ll have to wait years for their approval!”

“Calm down,” Damen asserted gently, “where has all this come from?”

“They were just speaking, I overheard them,” Laurent’s words were coming out disjointed, he couldn’t think clearly, “it’s been weeks for the both of you trying to convince them and it’s been months of just Auguste trying. If they’re not listening to their King, what other solution is there?”

Damen stayed silent. The moment between them felt tense, like Laurent was waiting at the edge of a cliff, not knowing if the wind would propel him forwards to fall off, or backwards, into safety.

“I don’t think I can wait years Laurent,” Damen said gently.

“You can’t...” Laurent trailed off, not knowing what to say.

“I was willing to fight for you, for us! I _have_ fought for the treaty with my own Kyros and I’m so willing to do that and more for you,” he paused, looking visibly distressed, “but not once have you mentioned even the possibility of telling your brother. Your brother! Who loves you and would support anything you want. When will _you_ fight for us? What future do we have really if we have to spend years hidden away?”

“You don’t think I don’t wish it were different? I’d do _anything_ for us to be able to court properly and publicly be together.”

“So tell your brother,” Damen implored, “let him in, and let us all figure out how we can do this. Together.”

Laurent paused, “he has so much on his plate already, you know this, I don’t want to add to his stress.”

“I understand that,” Damen said, “but he’s your brother. He wants to make you happy; he’d do anything for you.”

Laurent said nothing. He could see in Damen’s face how much this was hurting him. Damen was not underhanded, he didn’t want to hide anything, and Laurent could see how something as pure as falling in love with someone would be a painfully difficult thing for Damen to be secretive about.

“Laurent,” Damen looked at him pleadingly for a response, but Laurent had none to give him.

“You were right in your letter that our nations have to come first, and the fact of the matter is that Akielos remains weak if I don’t marry and produce an heir. Though that’s not what makes me want you, it hadn’t even crossed my mind when I approached you on the balcony, I can’t help but prioritise it now. If I know there’s not going to be a real future for us, I do have to consider my nation and my people too,” Damen sounded reluctant about it all.

Laurent felt frozen, unable to speak, simply replaying the entirety of his and Damen’s relationship thus far in his head. The balcony, the letters, today’s picnic. Would this be it?

“If we can’t even tell your brother, Laurent, then I think this has to stop now, before either of us falls too deep. God knows I’m already failing there,” Damen laughed miserably, “we have to face the fact that we may _never_ be together so it’d be best if we were to end it now,” Damen kept looking at Laurent with eyes holding so much emotion, silently asking Laurent to change his mind, but Laurent said nothing, still.

With one last look at him, Damen walked away from the garden and from Laurent, his shoulders hunched and his footfalls heavy.


	3. Chapter 3

Laurent spent the rest of the evening to himself. He knew he wouldn’t be bothered by anyone since he’d raised his voice at the servant who came to ask after him on Auguste’s behalf. He might have also threatened the loss of the servant’s job if word got back to Auguste about where he was. So, Laurent was upset.

He was still walking around the garden when he finally noticed how late it had gotten and decided to be maudlin in his rooms instead. Making sure to avoid any corridor in which he could hear voices, Laurent arrived in his chambers unnoticed and promptly threw himself on his bed, face down.

Under any other circumstances he would never have behaved in such a way, but he felt as though the day’s events had called for some histrionics.

“Laurent?” he heard called through the door, “where have you been? May I come in?”

Laurent turned around and lay flat on his back, listening out for anything else.

“Laurent, are you awake?” Laurent rolled his eyes at Auguste’s thoughtless question.

“Clearly not,” Auguste may have muttered through the door, but it was far too quiet for Laurent to be sure. He did hear Auguste murmuring something unintelligible to Jord, who was guarding Laurent’s door when he came in, and then he heard the footfalls of Auguste walking away.

He didn’t know what it was about Auguste’s retreat, perhaps it was that his mind had drawn some strange parallel between Auguste leaving his bedroom door and Damen leaving earlier, but the sound of his brother walking away bought tears to his eyes. They kept falling silently as he stared up at the ceiling, recalling the look on Damen’s face just before he’d left, the mixture of sadness and disappointment that Laurent felt powerless to change.

He tried going over it now, as he had been doing fruitlessly for the past few hours. How could he change this? How could he make it so that neither Damen nor himself had to give up on their shot at what felt like the beginning of falling in love? But, like how the last few hours had led to no results, he had no solution now either.

As the scholar and strategist of his family, he knew the inner workings of the Council far better than August did, and knew all the hidden reasons each Council Member had for voting a certain way. These reasonings were often far too selfish and conceited for Auguste to even imagine. So he knew that really, when it came to this issue with Akielos, the driving force behind all the past decisions had been his uncle and Council Members like Guion were adamantly refusing to cooperate with the treaty ideas out of some misguided loyalty for the dead man.

He also knew that the main Members who were being so contrary were really and truly sheep who were waiting to follow someone. Their respect for Auguste as King had wilted due to his uncle, so unless Auguste managed to quickly find a convoluted way to get them on his side, Vannes and Estienne were Laurent’s best bet to get the Council to make peace with Akielos.

The issue here was that Laurent had no idea why they weren’t already listening to Auguste. His eavesdropping and asking around hadn’t bought forward any answers, so he was back at the beginning; with no way to change the Council’s minds.

Laurent fell asleep in his day clothes still working over the argument and the problem in his mind, Damen’s face the last thing he saw before he succumbed to his dreams.

When he woke the next morning, he unfortunately had not dreamt up a solution and lay in bed much longer than usual, tracing the patterns of the ceiling with his eyes, trying to decide how to keep himself in his rooms all day so he didn’t have to face his brother or Damen. He knew Auguste would have questions for why he was in bed so early last night and why he hadn’t dropped by to see him the way he’d promised to, but he had no answers to give.

He was so deep into his musings, he barely heard the knock on the door, far too timid to be either his brother or Damen.

“Yes?” he called out.

“Your Highness,” the servant entered his room, nervously playing with his hands, “his Majesty asks for your attendance in his rooms for breakfast.”

The servant waited, eyes darting around the room, landing on Laurent’s face for half a second at a time.

“Fine,” he responded and watched as the servant practically fled. He felt a little guilty at his behaviour towards the staff that had clearly travelled along the grapevine over the last eight or so hours he’d been asleep, and resolved to make amends in some way. Perhaps he’d let the poor servant he’d yelled at have the day off.

As he readied himself, refusing to call in help, he denied himself the luxury of further brooding over an issue he couldn’t solve, decreeing that he would now be ignoring everything to do with Akielos for the foreseeable future until he was forced to face it. Unfortunately for him, the decree didn’t last long as, when he pushed open the doors to his brother’s rooms, sidestepping the guards willing to do the menial task for him, Auguste was upon him immediately.

“What’s wrong? Are you unwell? Is that why you fell asleep before night could even fall?” Auguste had taken large steps to reach where Laurent stood at the doorway very quickly, and had his hands on Laurent’s shoulders, analysing his face.

“I’m fine,” Laurent muttered, escaping the enclosure of Auguste’s arms and heading for the low table where the breakfast spread had been placed. When he got there, he paused, remembering that the last time he’d been in the room Damen had been with him, the both of them still holding out hope for their relationship. Had it really only been two days?

Laurent moved to sit hurriedly, so as to not draw any _further_ suspicion from his brother. And if he’d chosen the seat Damen had last sat at, well, that was purely coincidence.

Auguste joined him, still frowning, the crease between his brows extremely pronounced.

Laurent, contrary to the Court’s belief in his conniving ways, found it extremely hard to lie to his brother. There was just something about August’s open, honest face and the golden head of hair that created an angelic quality to him that Laurent found difficult to tell a bald-faced lie to.

“I know something’s wrong Laurent, I’m your brother, I _know_ you,” Auguste reached over to grab some bread, casually not looking at Laurent.

Laurent stayed silent, biting his lip.

“I don’t know if it’s something I did, I can’t think of anything recently that would have you upset and I know you’re not unwell, you’re usually much more dramatic about illness,” Auguste darted a look up at him from where he was watching his hands break bread into pieces, “does it have something to do with the Akielons? Are you unhappy about their presence? I presumed you and Damen were getting along, did he upset you in some way?”

Laurent looked away.

“He did?” Auguste sighed, “Damen’s very straightforward Laurent, you mustn’t read into his words too much. He really doesn’t _have_ the capability to say one thing and mean another. He’s a good man.”

“If he’s so good then why-“ Laurent hadn’t realised the words were going to come out till they did and thankfully caught himself from revealing too much.

“What did he do?” Auguste had suddenly changed his angle and now seemed to believe that Damen had hurt Laurent.

“It’s nothing like that,” Laurent was quick to clarify.

“Right. So what _was_ it like then?”

Realising no answer was forthcoming he made sure to add, “I have things to do today Laurent, but I’m willing to sit here for as long as it takes until you tell me. You’re my brother, this is hurting you, talk to me. Please”

Sighing deeply but knowing he was just prolonging the inevitable, Laurent begun to tell Auguste all that he’d been holding in for the last few months. He started with how, on the evening of the Meet, himself and Damen had spoken for a while and how there was something there between them right from that first conversation. Then he moved on to the letters and watched Auguste’s brows raise incrementally with every new bit of information revealed.

He then had to explain the last few letters and his reasonings for encouraging that they should behave like strangers, answering Auguste’s silent question about why his brother was unaware of what was transpiring between himself and Damen. The wrinkle between his brother’s brows had returned.

It was far more painful than Laurent had thought it would be to recount the events of the previous day, how he’d felt the beginnings of what he’d thought was real love and then, when he overheard the Council and realised the futility of pursuing a secret relationship, himself and Damen had ultimately reached a point where they had no solutions and thus Damen had ended it. He waited patiently for Auguste to respond.

He couldn’t help but think of that last conversation with Damen and how he’d pleaded for them to tell Auguste, insisting that he’d understand. Perhaps if he’d told Auguste earlier, the breakup could have been avoided.

“Well,” he started, but seemed unsure as to where to go from there so paused.

“Well?” Laurent prompted, wanting the conversation over with, having decided that wallowing sounded like a very productive way to spend the day.

“I had wondered whether Damen had true feelings for you or whether he was just enraptured by your,” his gesture encompassed Laurent’s body, “blond hair and razor sharp wit.”

Laurent didn’t know how to respond to that so simply asked, “you thought he had feelings for me?”

“Well, he was the epitome of enraptured and enamoured the other evening, every time he looked at you I could almost hear the love ballads, but I assumed that was the drunkenness and the lack of having lain with anyone for a while”

“Right”

“And he was always asking after you once the meetings with the Council were over,” he added.

“Right,” Laurent repeated.

“ _You_ on the other hand,” Auguste shook his head disbelievingly, “you’ve always been difficult to read, and I’ve never seen you interested in anyone before so _that_ made it even harder. Forgive me for not realising that my little brother was falling in love right in front of me, will you?”

“Well, it doesn’t matter now, seeing as I’ll never get there,” Laurent tried not to sound bitter, knowing that his brother wasn’t to blame for any of it, but it seeped through.

Auguste stared hard at him. This time Laurent couldn’t tell what it was for.

“No, it does matter,” Auguste promptly stood and, without sparing Laurent another glance, marched out of the room.

Laurent sat baffled in the chair for a moment before hastening to follow. He had to practically sprint to catch up to where Auguste had reached, the determination with which he was walking prevented anyone from standing in his way; he looked like the epitome of a King on his way to lead an army to battle but Laurent had no idea what battle Auguste was about to rage, and on whom.

“Ah, I had hoped I’d catch you all in here,” Auguste had burst in through the doors of the room where the Council seemed to be having a meeting. Without their King.

“It has come to my attention that it is even more paramount that we conclude a deal with Akielos,” Auguste held up a hand when it looked like Guion was going to interrupt him and Laurent tried to stop himself from gaping. Auguste had always been King-like but had, up till that point, been trying to have talks in a way that would keep the entire Council happy, not pushing for things he thought would irk any of them too much. It seemed like that part of him had disappeared.

“We _will_ conclude a treaty and it will happen within the next week. Anyone who is simply disagreeing for the sake of being contrary and not bringing up thoughtful critique will be removed immediately from my Council and the Lords and I will arrange for their replacement,” his tone bore no argument and Laurent finally realised that what he’d been seeing since his brother’s coronation had not been a King but a mere shadow of one. Here, in front of him, stood King Auguste of Vere.

“I have respected your experience and the counsel you provided for my father when he was King, but I will no longer overlook disrespect to _my_ rule. _I_ am King now, and it is _my_ view that having peace, formally, with Akielos is beneficial to us. For more reasons than one. Have I made myself clear?” He stared each of them in their faces, as they stared back at him, in shock.

“Your Majesty, I agree wholeheartedly, I will of course be putting my full support behind this task,” Lady Vannes was the first to respond, bowing deeply to Auguste.

“I too shall do the same,” Lady Estienne said, also bowing.

“I am glad to hear it. I must however ask, where this support has been these past few weeks, months even?” Auguste was clearly distrustful of their new ‘wholehearted’ support, and rightly so, Laurent thought. 

“Your Majesty, as you mentioned, we gave our counsel to your father before you who was much older than you are now when he ascended. Unfortunately,” here Lady Vannes paused out of respect for what she was about to say, “the matters of last year did not provide you with the chance to gain more knowledge from watching your father rule for a little while longer. We have been, to put it simply, waiting for you to fully embrace your title as King and take a stand here. It is extremely important to know when _your_ knowledge, as King, should be obeyed without question and we’re very glad to see you become a true King today, Your Majesty.”

Laurent watched Auguste’s throat bob, a clear sign that he was feeling something. Whether that was anger or upset was hard to grasp from where he stood.

“Well, I thank you for your support,” Auguste looked both of them in the eye before saying, “My father isn’t here to see me be King, but your support here means almost as much as his would have.”

“As for the rest of you,” he paused at Guion’s face, “you either pledge your support or you will be removed and a replacement will be voted in. As my brother has told me many times, there are countless Lords vying for the spots you have.”

Laurent silently cheered Auguste on in his mind, still unsure about what this meant for him and Damen.

“I have a personal stake in this treaty being finalised now so it will be done.”

Laurent read between the words and almost fell over with the joy that had come over him.

Auguste was showing his support for them through this new determination to get a treat signed and then, Laurent was sure, there would be some sort of announcement made about himself and Damen.

He gently nudged his brother with his shoulder. Auguste looked over and gave him a nod, his eyes smiling down at him. Laurent took no time to think and gave a perfunctory nod to the Council and turned to leave the room.

As soon as he was on the other side of the doors, he looked around, wishing upon Damen’s presence for the first time since the Akielons had arrived. He had no idea where to look for him or what he’d say once he found him but all he knew was that he had to get to him. Choosing a direction and walking along the hallway, he realised that he would probably find Damen practicing sports somewhere so hurried, as casually as he could, to the sporting area.

He had just reached the doorway of the sparring rooms when he heard voices. He moved closer silently, thanking the years of reconnaissance that had developed his ability to move without making any noise, as he realised that one of the voices he was hearing was Damen’s. He tilted his head towards the open door and saw that he was talking to Nikandros.

Laurent cursed silently, knowing that Nikandros was not his biggest fan and was most likely encouraging Damen to leave Vere and never think about Laurent again. Sure enough, when he concentrated, he could hear Nikandros saying, “you can’t trust him! There is nothing keeping us here my friend, neither brother is upholding his word and what would be best is for us to leave. As soon as possible.”

Laurent’s eyes narrowed. He could admit that he had caused Damen’s pain so Nikandros’ accusations against him had some merit, but his brother had done nothing to deserve them.

“Enough Nik. You may speak of me how you wish as we have years of friendship between us but do not insult another King, especially not one as true as Auguste is. He is trying his hardest and I believe he will get the outcome we desire.”

Laurent thought he heard Nikandros mutter something along the lines of ‘you and your soft spot for blondes’ but he wasn’t entirely sure. He was trying very hard not to swoon at yet another showcase of Damen’s character.

“The only blond I want is Laurent,” Damen sighed, “and he doesn’t want me enough to fight for us, so, even though it’ll kill me inside, I’ll have to stay away from him.”

Laurent entered the room.

“That’s not necessary,” he pressed his hands to his sides to not draw attention to how they were shaking. He had never been this nervous to talk to someone before.

“You may leave us,” Laurent looked over at Nikandros, raising his eyebrows. Nikandros didn’t even have the gall to look chastened as he left the room.

“Your subordinates aren’t very respectful,” he stated, finally looking over at Damen, who’s eyes were rimmed red much like he was sure his own were if his brother’s concern earlier counted for anything. He looked nothing like the confident, charming man that had Laurent falling for him from the beginning.

“He’s not a subordinate, he’s my friend. Though he does take many leniencies with me as we’ve practically grown up like brothers,” Damen didn’t seem to know what to say after that and kept glancing at Laurent’s face, then looking away quickly.

Laurent also avoided eye contact with him and what followed was a few moments of silence. Realising that it was he who had approached Damen, Laurent decided to speak, thoughtlessly, still unaware of what he wanted to tell Damen exactly.

“You were right,”

“I was?” Damen glanced at him, “about what?”

“About my brother. He-“ Laurent sighed, “loves me and I have just returned from a Council meeting in which he was extremely supportive and fighting for my happiness. He told the Council Members to either work with him or face replacement, which, I’m sure will work out favourably for your treaty signings, you can expect that to go much more smoothly now,” Laurent paused, realising he was rambling and felt his cheeks warm.

“I’m glad to hear that. How far does his support and fight for your happiness extend, exactly?” Damen asked, his voice level, almost as if he were trying not to sound too hopeful.

“I’m sure there will be discussions that need to be had, between the two of you,” Laurent smiled to himself, deciding he wanted to keep Damen guessing.

“Yes, about the treaty” Damen said slowly, almost questioningly.

“Among other things”

“Laurent,” Damen sighed.

“Yes?”

“Is that all you came here to tell me? That the Treaty will be finalised and you’re glad you won’t have to see my face anymore?” Damen was now completely facing him, no longer unsure of himself.

“No,” Laurent paused, “but the Treaty is of course of the utmost importance and must be reviewed and signed before anything else can be finalised-“

“Laurent,” Damen interrupted, sounding amused but impatient.

Laurent walked towards the door slowly. Once he reached the doorway, he turned so he was half facing Damen.

“King Damianos of Akielos,” Damen smiled at him softly, “I hereby consent to being courted by you. From this point onwards, we shall be bound by the decrees of courting,”

Damen’s smile widened as Laurent spoke the official words and just before he left the room Laurent made sure to say, “and my brother will likely arrange a meeting for later today to provide his blessing,”

Laurent heard Damen’s joyous laughter as he walked away, feeling freer and happier than he had in months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiiiiii 
> 
> It's been months, months of uni work taking over my life and applications and extra-curriculars, etc. so I have barely written at all. TBH I'm not completely happy with this last chapter but I couldn't think of any more I wanted to add.
> 
> This fic was supposed to just give me a chance to see how I felt about writing fanfic and whilst writing this story all I can think of is another, modern Royalty AU that I want to write so I have to admit, whilst this little story did show me that I'd like to try writing more, I did lose my interest. 
> 
> Nevertheless, I did finish it and from the get go this has been how I saw this story ending so nothing is missing really. Hope you've enjoyed and will stick around for when I go onto write the next one! 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Pls keep kudosing and commenting!
> 
> Nxxilah


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